Folding mechanism of vehicle

ABSTRACT

A folding mechanism of vehicle includes a pivot unit having a stationary gear, a chassis unit having a frame pivotally connected with the pivot unit, a swivelable unit pivotally connected with the chassis unit and fixedly connected with a driven gear, and a rack engaged with the stationary gear of the pivot unit and the driven gear of the swivelable unit. When the chassis unit is pivotally folded relative to the pivot unit, the rack is moved to drive the driven gear to rotate, such that the swivelable unit swings relative to the chassis unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Taiwan Patent Application No102130852 field on Aug. 28, 2013, the entire content of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to vehicles, and more particularly to afolding mechanism of vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventional folding mechanism of vehicle usually adopts linkagestructure to achieve extending and receiving motion thereof. However,linkage structure is generally composed of a large number of pivotalparts and links. In addition, conventional folding mechanism of vehicleneeds to provide sufficient space for movement of the links. The drivingway of links may encounter problem that the driving angle at around theupper dead point and the lower dead point of the links is relativelysmaller, failing to provide needed or desired folding angle. Therefore,conventional folding mechanism of vehicle needs to be improved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstance inview. The objective of the present invention is to provide a vehiclefolding mechanism which can minimize the amount of the structural partsand the space for movement of the parts, and can provide an accuratefolding angle.

To attain the above-mentioned objective and other objectives, thevehicle folding mechanism provided by the present invention comprises apivot unit, a chassis unit, a swivelable unit, and a rack. The pivotunit has a stationary gear. The chassis unit has a frame pivotallyconnected with the pivot unit. The swivelable unit is pivotallyconnected with the chassis unit and fixedly connected with a drivengear. The rack is engaged with the stationary gear of the pivot unit andthe driven gear. When the chassis unit is pivotally folded relative tothe pivot unit, the rack is moved to drive the driven gear to rotate,such that the swivelable unit swings relative to the chassis unit.

Other advantages and features of the present invention will be fullyunderstood by reference to the following specification in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle folding mechanism according toa preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing a fullyextended position thereof.

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the vehicle folding mechanismaccording to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, showinga fully folded/received position thereof.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a part of the vehicle folding mechanism ofthe preferred embodiment, showing the relationship of a pivot unit and achassis unit.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a part of the vehicle folding mechanismof the preferred embodiment, showing the assembly of the pivot unit andthe chassis unit.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway lateral view of the vehicle foldingmechanism of the preferred embodiment, showing the fully extendedposition of the vehicle folding mechanism.

FIG. 6 is another partially cutaway lateral view of the vehicle foldingmechanism of the preferred embodiment, showing the vehicle foldingmechanism is in a meddle process of being folded.

FIG. 7 is still another partially cutaway lateral view of the vehiclefolding mechanism of the preferred embodiment, showing the fullyfolded/received position of the folding mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-7, a vehicle folding mechanism provided by apreferred embodiment of the present invention comprises parts asfollows.

A pivot unit 10 has a pull handle 11, a plurality of gear-fixing members12, two stationary gears 13 fixedly mounted to the gear-fixing members12. Each stationary gear 13 has a positioning arc groove 15.

Two chassis units 20 each have a frame 21 pivotally connected with thepivot unit 10, a shell 22 installed on the frame 21, a displacementaccommodating portion 23 which is realized as a sliding groove in thisembodiment, and a linking gear 24 fixedly connected with the frame 21,and a positioning pin 25 slidably inserted into the positioning arcgroove 15 of the pivot unit 10. Each chassis unit 20 is fixedlyconnected with a linking gear 24 engaged with the linking gear 24 ofanother chassis unit 20. In this embodiment, the associated linkinggears 24 of the two chassis units 20 are the same. Therefore, when thetwo chassis units 20 are rotated relative to the pivot unit 10, the twochassis units 20 will synchronously swing at a same rotating angle.

Two swivelable units 30 are pivotally connected with the chassis units20, respectively. Each swivelable unit 30 is fixedly connected with adriven gear 33. Two racks 40 each are engaged with the stationary gear13 of the pivot unit 10 and the driven gear 33 of one swivelable unit30. When the chassis units 20 are pivotally folded relative to the pivotunit 10, the racks 40 are kept in engagement with the stationary gear 13of the pivot unit 10 and moved relative to the chassis units 20. Theracks 40 are moveable in the displacement accommodating portions 23,respectively.

A front wheel unit 50 is fixedly mounted to one of the swivelable units30, such that the front wheel unit 50 is swingable along with theassociated swivelable unit 30.

A rear wheel unit 60 is fixedly mounted to the other one of theswivelable units 30, such that the rear wheel unit 60 is swingable alongwith the associated swivelable unit 30.

A steering unit 70 is fixedly mounted to the front wheel unit 50.

A linkage unit 80 includes two first links 81 fixedly connected with theswivelable unit 30, two second links 82 pivotally connected with one ofthe chassis units 20, two third links 83 respectively and pivotallyconnected with the first links 81, two fourth links 84 each pivotallyconnected with one fist link 81 and one second link 82, a top bracket 85pivotally connected with the third links 83 and the fourth links 84, anda seat 86 mounted on the top bracket 85. Besides, the linkage unit 80further includes a seat positioning notch 87 provided at the top bracket85, a seat positioning pin 88 provided at the third link 83. The seatpositioning pin 88 is engageable with the seat positioning notch 87.

In this embodiment, because the first links 81 of the linkage unit 80and the rear wheel unit 60 are fixedly mounted with the swivelable unit30, they are synchronously swingable along with the swivelable unit 30.

A locking unit 90 includes first and second fastening members 91 and 92arranged at bottoms of the chassis units 20, respectively. The firstfastening member 91 and the second fastening member 92 are lockedtogether when the two chassis units 20 are folded and received togetherso as to prohibit the two chassis units 20 from swinging movementrelated to each other.

FIGS. 1 and 5 show that the vehicle folding mechanism is fully extended.To fold the vehicle folding mechanism, the pull handle 11 is pulledupwards. As a result, the two chassis units 20 rotate about pivotalportions between the chassis units 20 and the pivot unit 10 at a samerotating angle towards each other because the linking gears 24 of thechassis units 20 are meshed together. At the same time, because eachrack 40 is meshed at an end thereof with the stationary gear 13 of thepivot unit 10, the rack 40 is relatively moved to drive the driven gear33 of the swivelable unit 30, which is meshed with the other end of therack 40, to rotate to cause synchronous rotation of the swivelable unit30. That is, the swivelable unit 30 and the driven gear 33 synchronouslyrotate.

On the other hand, the rotation of the swivelable unit 30 willsynchronously drive the first links 81 of the linkage unit 80 to rotate,which in turn drive the second links 82 to swing to make the seatpositioning pin 88 release from the seat positioning notch 87, and thenthe top bracket 85, the fourth links 84 and the second links 82followingly swing toward the chassis units 20 and collapse together.

FIGS. 2 and 7 show the fully folded/received position of the vehiclefolding mechanism of the present invention. At this stage, the firstfastening member 91 is locked with the second fastening member 92 of thelocking unit 90, such that the two chassis units 20 are locked at thefully folded/received position and prohibited from being extended fromeach other.

To extend the vehicle folding mechanism from the folded/receivedposition to the extended position, reverse steps are carried out. It canbe seen that the operation of the vehicle folding mechanism of thepresent invention is simple and the movement of the vehicle foldingmechanism is accurate.

Except the above-disclosed embodiment, the vehicle folding mechanism ofthe present invention may be varied as follows.

The linkage unit 80 is not limited to the above-disclosed manner. Anysuitable linkage unit can be used in the present invention.Alternatively, the vehicle folding mechanism of the present inventionmay include no such linkage unit 80.

Further, the linking gears 24 of the chassis units 20 may be eliminated.That is, the two chassis units 20 need not to be synchronously rotate ata same rotating angle. In this way, the objective of the presentinvention can also be achieved.

Furthermore, the displacement accommodating portion 23 of the chassisunit 20 may be realized as a limiting pin (now shown) in lieu of theabove-disclosed sliding groove, and the rack 10 may be configured havinga limiting groove (not shown) sleeved onto the limiting pin of thechassis unit.

The stationary gear 13 of the pivot unit 10 may be provided with teetharranged in an annular manner. The rack 40 may be substituted for anendless toothed belt (not shown) wound around and engaged with thestationary gear 13 of the pivot unit 10 and the driven gear 33 of theswivelable unit 30.

The two swivelable units 30 may adopt driven gears 33 of different sizesso as to meet the demand of different extended/received angles of theswivelable units 20. Similarly, the associated linking gears 24 of thechassis units 20 may be different in size so as to provide differentrotating angles of the chassis units 20 relative to the pivot unit 10.

In case the vehicle folding mechanism comprises a plurality of chassisunits 20, the chassis units 20 may be totally pivotally connected withthe pivot unit 10 as disclosed above. In an alternate embodiment, atleast one of the chassis units 20 is fixedly or integrally connected thepivot unit 10 so as to fulfil the need that only one chassis unit 20 ispivotable relative to the pivot unit 10.

In light of above, to achieve the objective of the present invention,the vehicle folding mechanism of the present invention may actually onlycomprise a pivot unit 10 having a stationary gear 13, a chassis unit 20having a frame 21 pivotally connected with the pivot unit 10, aswivelable unit 30 pivotally connected with the chassis unit 20 andfixedly connected with a driven gear 33, and a rack 40 engaged with thestationary gear 13 of the pivot unit 10 and the driven gear 33 of theswivelable unit 30. When the chassis unit 20 is pivotally foldedrelative to the pivot unit 10, the rack 40 is moved to drive the drivengear 33 to rotate so as to make the swivelable unit 30 swing relative tothe chassis unit 20.

In addition, the front wheel unit 50 and the rear wheel unit 60 are notlimited to be mounted to the swivelable units 30, respectively. They maybe directly mounted to the pivot unit 10. Besides, the steering unit 70and linkage unit 80 are not limited to be installed with the front wheelunit 50 and the rear wheel unit 60, respectively. They may be directlymounted to the pivot unit 10, or mounted to the swivelable units 30,respectively.

In conclusion, the extending or receiving motion of the vehicle foldingmechanism of the present invention is achieved by the fact that theracks 40 are displaced to drive the swivelable units 30 to swing, suchthat the parts, such as front wheel unit 50, rear wheel unit 60 andlinkage unit 80 that are connected with the swivelable unit 30 aresynchronously swung. The vehicle folding mechanism of the presentinvention can really reduce amount of the structural parts and the spacefor movement of the parts, and can provide accurate folding angle,thereby achieving the objective of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle folding mechanism, comprising: a pivot unit (10) having a stationary gear (13); a chassis unit (20) having a frame (21) pivotally connected with the pivot unit (10); a swivelable unit (30) pivotally connected with the chassis unit (20) and fixedly connected with a driven gear (33); and a rack (40) engaged with the stationary gear (13) of the pivot unit (10) and the driven gear (33); wherein when the chassis unit (20) is pivotally folded relative to the pivot unit (10), the rack (40) is moved to drive the driven gear (33) to rotate to make the swivelable unit (30) swing relative to the chassis unit (20).
 2. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality of said chassis units (20) each pivotally connected with the pivot unit (10).
 3. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the chassis units (20) is fixedly connected with a linking gear (24); one of the linking gears (24) is engageable with another one of the linking gears (24).
 4. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 2, comprising a plurality of said swivelable units (30) respectively and pivotally connected with said chassis units (20), and a plurality of said racks (40) each engaged with the stationary gear (13) of the pivot unit (10) and the driven gear (33) of one of the swivelable units (30).
 5. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 2, comprising a plurality of said swivelable units (30) respectively and pivotally connected with said chassis units (20); one of said swivelable units (30) is connected with a front wheel unit (50), and another one of said swivelable units (30) is connected with a rear wheel unit (60).
 6. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality of said chassis units (20); at least one of said chassis units is fixedly or integrally connected with the pivot unit (10).
 7. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 6, wherein each of the chassis units (20) is fixedly connected with a linking gear (24); one of the linking gears (24) is engageable with another one of the linking gears (24).
 8. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 6, comprising a plurality of said swivelable units (30) respectively and pivotally connected with said chassis units (20), and a plurality of said racks (40) each engaged with the stationary gear (13) of the pivot unit (10) and the driven gear (33) of one of the swivelable units (30).
 9. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 6, comprising a plurality of said swivelable units (30) respectively and pivotally connected with said chassis units (20); one of said swivelable units (30) is connected with a front wheel unit (50), and another one of said swivelable units (30) is connected with a rear wheel unit (60).
 10. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a linkage unit (80) having a first link (81) fixedly connected with the swivelable unit (30).
 11. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 10, wherein the linkage unit (80) further comprises a second link (82) pivotally connected with the chassis unit (20), a third link (83) pivotally connected with the first link (81), a fourth link (84) pivotally connected with the first and second links (81, 82), and a top bracket (85) pivotally connected with the third and fourth links (83, 84).
 12. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pivot unit (10) comprises a positioning arc groove (15), and the chassis unit (20) has a positioning pin (25) slidably inserted into the positioning arc groove (15) of the pivot unit (10).
 13. The vehicle folding mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the chassis unit (20) has a displacement accommodating portion (23) in which the rack (40) is moveably disposed. 